Today’s post is from our current series at The Community, and
is based on the book Jesus Is _________ by Judah Smith. I pray today’s word will challenge and
encourage you as it has me.
John 10:10 NLT
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying
life.
The Bible tells us that sin
is something that comes into our space and invades our lives. Sin robs us and takes from us our ability to
really live life in a great way. Sin
takes away the ability to do what God calls us to do. Sin is a thief that takes from us life, joy
and so much more. Sin does things to us
that keeps us in bondage.
Romans 3:23
NLT
For
everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Everybody is in on it. No one is
exempt because we are human. Our nature
is to do wrong. You don’t have to teach
your kids to do wrong. You have to train
them to do what is right. As well we
might be good people who does almost everything good or go a long time without
doing anything wrong, but we all mess up and sin. We all miss the mark and standards that God
set for us.
We live in a fallen world. Like
the verse that I began with today our world and all humanity is fallen and
warped, but God came to do something about sin.
Since we are crippled due to what sin has taken from us who better to
help us than the one who created us. God
is the one who created us, the one who says what life is about, and God
understands humanity because we were made in His image. God’s desire is for us to live strong and to
live with great satisfaction or abundance like the verse said.
Sin keeps us from really living life to the fullest. Sin is an intruder or a thief; therefore, sin
keeps us from living. In turn it is the
love of God that sent Jesus to cover and forgive our sins. Accepting what God did for us gives us life
and gives us back the possibility of better, stronger and richer life.
An example of this is found in the conversation that God had with Cain
at the beginning of the world. When
Cain’s offering or worship was not accepted by God, Cain became angry and
wouldn’t do what God asked all to do.
Notice what we hear God saying:
Genesis 4:7 NLT
You will be
accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then
watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must
subdue it and be its master.”
God told Cain to watch out because sin was waiting to rob what was best
from His life. What a great illustration
of sin being like an animal hunting it’s prey and ready to attack and take
control. That is what sin does to our
lives.
But God turns this in a strange direction when He said we can and should
be master over sin. That is a fact, but
it is not for the reason we might think.
Overcoming sin comes with allowing God to work in our lives and make us
alive by Him. Literally sin gave us
death. God gives us life. He makes us alive.
Praise God for life and for being alive!
Jesus is our life, and He is alive
Colossians 2:13 NLT
You
were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut
away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.
The solution is GOD. This is the
reason God sent His son. He came to make
us more and more like Him, and Jesus is alive.
He makes us alive. That comes
because of His mercy and love. This is
something not easy for us humans to understand.
Ephesians 2:4 NLT
But
God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved
us,
God is rich in mercy. I love how Judah Smith talked about the layers
of God’s mercy. He said that God’s mercy
is so deep and has so many layers, as the verse says about His rich mercy, that
we can never get to the end of His mercy.
Take another step forward and see the word great. It speaks of God’s great love. Not small love, or normal love, or warped
love. This is the love that God has and
humans have a very hard time with.
God’s mercy and love made us alive through the power and person of Jesus. We are alive because Jesus is alive!
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